“We have to be on our toes at all times tonight, keeping it simple and trying to play in their end as much as possible,” Hutton said of facing a big-name Chicago offensive crew.

Kane, who leads the Hawks with 19 points (6-13) is celebrating his 28th birthday tonight. He has 10 goals and 17 assists in 31 career regular season games against Vancouver. Marian Hossa has nine goals and 15 assists in 36 games, while Toews has eight goals and 14 assists in 31 games.

The moral of the story? Their best guys regularly show it against Vancouver.

“It’s the names you know well that scare you,” said Desjardins. “They’ve got veterans who have gone through a lot of different situations.

“They have a lot of guys who just know how to win.”

2. EYES ON THE D

The Vancouver blue line crew is filled with sidebar stories tonight.

How will Hutton, who has taken some heat from the media and the fans on Twitter, follow through after his winning goal against the Coyotes? He admitted after the morning skate that his phone was “blowing up. I had a lot of people texting me, congratulating me. Some of them were saying that they didn’t know I had hands like that.”

He admitted that he felt he needed a bit of a boost emotional.

“It was big for my confidence,” he said. “Like I had told guys before, I feel I haven’t been playing as well as I should be.”

As well with the Vancouver rearguards, Troy Stecher has a former University of North Dakota teammate in the Chicago lineup in centre Nick Schmaltz. Chicago skipped their morning skate, but Schmaltz, a 2014 first-round pick, has played all 18 games this season, so you’d think he’d continue tonight.

Meanwhile, how will Nikita Tryamkin respond in his first game after his check on Brad Richardson left Richardson with a broken leg? The hit was more awkward looking than vicious.

“It was a new situation,” said Desjardins. “There were guys on their bench chirping him and saying things. For him, it’s kind of different. He hadn’t been involved in that.

“He had no intent. It was almost like he fell over him and his weight went on him.”

3. DORSETT OUT, MEGNA IN

Derek Dorsett didn’t skate Saturday and Desjardins admitted that he’ll be sidelined with a “shoulder/arm,” ailment. He left the Arizona game after playing just 1:42.

Desjardins offered up no timeline on a Dorsett return.

Jayson Megna, who hasn’t played since Oct. 28 due to shoulder trouble, did take part in the morning skate, taking line rushes as part of Vancouver’s No. 4 group, alongside Jack Skille and Brendan Gaunce.

Megna, 26, grew up in the Chicago area.

“I remember going to the games as a 10-year-old kid,” said Megna. “It’s definitely pretty cool any time you get to play these guys.”

4. WILL GUSTAV HAVE EXTRA GUSTO?

Chicago defenceman Gustav Forsling, 20, is expected to make his debut against the Canucks, the team that a fifth-round pick in 2014 to nab his rights initially. If he has a big night, the Rogers fan base could be snarky.

The Canucks sent Forsling to Chicago on Jan. 29, 2015, for defenceman Adam Clendening.

Vancouver had injury issues at the time and thought they could use Clendening, who is four years Forsling’s senior, right away.

Forsling has played 16 of 18 games this season for the Blackhawks, including the past nine.

He’s averaging 16:09 of ice time per game and has one goal, three assists and a plus-one rating.

Clendening was sent to the Pittsburgh Penguins along with Nick Bonino in the Brandon Sutter trade. He’s bounced around since, and is currently with the Rangers organization.

5. MARKSTROM MAKES MARK

Ryan Miller (ill), who was too sick to back up in the Arizona game and led to the Canucks bringing in Michael Garteig from ECHL Alaska as insurance, was back on the ice this morning, but Desjardins says that Jacob Markstrom will get a third straight start. He made 36 stops against Arizona after giving up seven goals against the Rangers the game before.

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